The Washington Nationals (51-42) moved three games clear at the top of the NL East standings with a thrilling comeback victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday. The Nationals will look to stretch that advantage even further when they take on the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates (54-40) in the opening game of their four-game set tonight.
Who will emerge victorious in this National League matchup? Read on below for a breakdown of this mouth-watering contest and while you’re at it you can check out our preview of the game between Kansas City and St. Louis.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Preview
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
When: Thursday, July 23, 7:05 PM ET
Line: Washington Nationals (+150) at Pittsburgh Pirates (-170); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals returned to winning ways Saturday with a nerve-wracking 4-3 victory against the New York Mets. It was a fantastic win by the injury-plagued Nationals who rallied from three runs down in this game. The Nationals will look to sustain the momentum from that important victory when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in their series opener tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Starting for Washington this evening is right-hander Doug Fister (3-5, 4.30 ERA). The 31-year-old has struggled mightily this month of July, allowing a total of nine earned runs and 24 hits over 17 innings pitched. The Nationals are 0-3 during that stretch. Fister is 1-4 with a 4.29 ERA since returning from a forearm injury on June 18. He will fancy his chances, however, of regaining his form against the Bucs later tonight. In his four career starts against Pittsburgh, Fister is 1-1 with a 1.07 ERA.
He can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs Washington’s offense to pick up the scoring slack as well. The onus is on star outfielder Bryce Harper to carry the offensive load for the injury-depleted Nats. He leads the team in home runs (27), RBIs (64), batting average (.333) and on-base percentage (.465) this season. He is 2-for-3 lifetime against Pittsburgh starter Francisco Liriano with one homer and two RBIs.
Washington is 6-4 in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh’s losing woes continued on Wednesday as it suffered a gut-wrenching 5-1 defeat to the Kansas City Royals in their series finale. Mike Moustakas hit a back-breaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the Bucs crashing to their fifth loss in the last six games.
The Pirates will look to get their season right back on track when they take on the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of their four-game series later this evening. Starting for the Bucs tonight is Francisco Liriano (5-6, 2.98 ERA). The Pirates are 4-0 in Liriano’s last four starts. The veteran has held opponents to two runs or fewer during that stretch. Liriano was superb in his last appearance, allowing just two runs on five hits in 6.1 innings of action in Pittsburgh’s 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on July 12.
The main concern for Liriano heading into tonight’s ballgame is his recurring neck problems. He was scratched just 15 minutes before his last scheduled start because of a stiff neck. Rust will definitely play a factor in tonight’s contest as Liriano will be pitching on a whopping 12 days’ rest. Liriano has struggled in his last two starts against Washington, surrendering a total of nine earned runs on 10.2 innings pitched.
With Liriano still a big question mark at this point, the onus is on the Pittsburgh hitters to provide some run support tonight. Expected to lead the Bucs offense in this series opener against the Nationals is first baseman Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez is 4-of-7 (.571) with one walk and two strikeouts in his career against Fister.
The Pirates are 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Pittsburgh (-170) wins, 5-3.
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